Groove worn proudly off-center — rhythm with attitude; a style that swings instead of standing straight.
Probably traced through French dialectal funkier (to smoke), from Latin fumigare (to smoke, fumigate); funk once meant a strong smell, and mid-twentieth-century jazz slang turned it into praise for earthy, soulful, off-center rhythm.
Groove worn proudly off-center: rhythm with attitude, swinging instead of standing straight.